Gaining Ground: A Blueprint for Community-Based International Development

Launched at a kitchen table in Mendota Heights, Minnesota, Mano a Mano began collecting and shipping medical supplies to impoverished Bolivian communities in 1994. Twenty years later, an organization that once operated exclusively from the founder’s basement has now successfully implemented over 300 infrastructure projects, including medical clinics, schools, roads, and water reservoirs. As a result of their efforts, over 700,000 Bolivians, who face one of the highest rural poverty rates in the world, now have access to health care for the first time. Gaining Ground is the inspiring case study of how this volunteer-based, grassroots organization is making history in Bolivia, and offers an autobiographical look at the how to and lessons learned of their international development work.